Architects get input on design of new middle school

KCS staff, students, parents, and community members are helping to design the district’s new middle school. Moseley Architects, which is developing the blueprint for the new school, is letting stakeholders tell them what they would like to see in the new building. The architects are holding multiple meetings to get input from as many people as possible. They are asking staff, students, parents, and community members to tell them what is most important to be included in the new school. Moseley is even letting stakeholders design suggested floor plans. All the ideas will help the architects design a building that will meet the needs of students, staff, and the community for several decades.

KCS is working with Cabarrus County Commissioners to provide money to build the school. While the funding has not yet been finalized, it is expected to be available by early 2016. If that timetable stays in place, construction will begin in the winter of 2016 and should be completed by the start of school in 2017.

Once the new middle school opens, it will be for grades seven and eight and will be larger than the current KMS. The district will then convert the current middle school into a second intermediate school. Both intermediate schools will house grades four, five, and six, and all KCS elementary schools will switch to K-3. That will allow KCS to relieve overcrowding across the district by building just one school.

Once the new school opens, the current KIS will become a STEM magnet school. The building is well suited for a STEM magnet because it originally served as a middle school. Therefore, it has science labs and other resources that will make it an ideal place for a STEM school and an attractive offering for many students and families. The current KMS building will eventually become an arts magnet school, but both schools will offer a full curriculum that includes all subjects.

As the new middle school is built, it will include resources to support a full STEAM curriculum (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics). It will be equipped with advanced science, technology, and arts facilities, which will complement the intermediate schools and be a stepping stone to A.L. Brown High School. A.L. Brown currently offers extensive arts and STEM programs. The new middle school also will support Kannapolis City Schools’ new strategic plan, which emphasizes a STEAM curriculum.